He walked over to Howard. “How about you? Want to switch to the winning side?”
“Go back to hell,” Howard growled.
Darafer smirked. “Who’s going to make me?” He glanced back at Wu Shen. “Master Han can decide what to do with them.”
“Yes, my lord.” Wu Shen bowed.
“But keep the girl alive. She has good connections.” Darafer smiled at Abigail. “Let me know if your father wants to make a deal. I could save your mother.”
She lifted her chin, determined to be as brave as Howard. “Go back to hell.”
He chuckled. “Actually, I think I’ll go visit your mother. Such a shame she’s about to take a turn for the worse.” He vanished.
Abigail’s heart plummeted into her stomach. Would he really hurt her mother? Of course he would. Wasn’t that what demons did?
“He killed Sawat,” Howard said quietly, looking at Wu Shen. “Next time he gets angry, it could be your turn.”
Wu Shen’s mouth thinned. “You think to sway me? Our bodies are Master Han’s to command. It is an honor to serve and die for him.”
“And the demon?” Howard asked.
Wu Shen looked away. “He owns our souls.”
Howard snorted. “Then you had better hope you never die.”
Wu Shen strode outside and stood on the ledge.
Abigail exchanged a look with Howard and nodded slightly. They might be able to get through to Wu Shen. She sent up a silent prayer that they would all survive. Including her mother.
Wu Shen walked back into the cave. “The sun is setting. The chiang-shih will need blood.”
“There’s bottled blood in the ice chest.” She motioned to it. “I could give it to them.”
He nodded. “That will be for the best. They would not attempt to attack you.”
She hurried to the ice chest and removed three bottles. Then she settled on her sleeping bag next to Gregori.
As the last rays of the sun faded away, torches were set ablaze outside the entrance to the cave. Wu Shen lit the kerosene lamps as he gave more orders. Three soldiers unsheathed their swords and formed a line in front of the Vamps. Two more watched Howard.
The Vamps jerked and their chests suddenly expanded with a gasp for air. Their eyes opened.
“Listen,” Abigail whispered.
Gregori reached for her, but the chain pulled tight on his cuffs. “What the—” He sat up, an alarmed look on his face.
J.L. and Russell sat up, and all three Vamps cursed under their breath and pulled at their restraints.
“We’ve been captured.” Abigail unscrewed the top off Gregori’s bottle and placed it into his hands. “Master Han’s army arrived during the day.”
“How?” J.L. asked, eyeing the soldiers.
“They’re mortal.” Abigail unscrewed J.L.’s bottle and handed it to him. “But with superhuman powers. They may have enhanced hearing,” she added quietly, so the guys would be careful what they said.
“Shit,” Gregori whispered, then guzzled down some blood.
“Howard has been captured, too.” Abigail passed a bottle to Russell. “They have all five of us.”
The guys were silent, but she could see a gleam of satisfaction in their eyes that Rajiv had escaped.
“They took all your weapons and put silver cuffs on you so you can’t teleport. And Howard can’t shift.” She glanced at the soldiers. They didn’t seem to mind that she was talking. “Master Han isn’t working alone. He has a demon helping him.”
“A demon?” J.L. asked.
“His name is Darafer. He’s mutating the Demon Herb to make a potion that gives humans supernatural powers.”
“So a nasty vampire villain has teamed up with a demon.” Gregori gulped down more blood. “We’re in deep shit.”
“Could be worse,” J.L. mumbled.
“How do you figure that?” Gregori asked, his eyes narrowed on the soldiers.
J.L. shrugged. “We could be dead.”
“He’s right.” Russell pulled his hands apart, testing the chain. “As long as we’re alive, we can fight.”
“Exactly.” Gregori finished the last of his blood, then tossed the bottle aside. “It’s a shame they took all of our weapons.” He gave the other Vamps a pointed look.
Russell and J.L. nodded and set their bottles down.
“And a shame they tied up Howard,” Gregori said, his voice loud. “He’s liable to get really pissed.”
Howard roared, rising to his knees, and all the soldiers looked his way. With vampire speed, Gregori, Russell, and J.L. whipped knives out from beneath their sleeping bags. Before Abigail could even see what was happening, three guards were dead on the ground with knives in their chests, and the Vamps had claimed their swords.